Learning Centers Methodology
INITIAL AND PREPARATORY LEVEL
Ages 3, 4, and 5
At the Initial and Preparatory levels, we work with the Learning Centers methodology. These are carefully planned spaces where children interact with materials and resources connected to a specific theme. Through exploration and hands-on manipulation, students progressively build their first learning experiences. This methodology is grounded in the guidelines of the California Curriculum.
Beginning in the Preparatory level, Gabrielino students are introduced to Understanding Projects, which integrate diverse learning experiences that foster the development of motor, cognitive, emotional, and social coexistence skills necessary for functioning in their daily environment.
Comprehensive Development of Gabrielino Students
The sensory integration and body expression program offers multisensory experiences through play, aimed at developing gross and fine motor skills, sensory stimulation, and the strengthening of cognitive abilities.
Children have their first contact with the English language through playful activities, songs, rhymes, and routines that support vocabulary acquisition and the development of initial communication skills in a second language.
The initiative “The Sound of an Admirable Heart” promotes music learning through the Suzuki methodology, using listening, repetition of rhythms and melodies, and the use of musical instruments.
Socio-emotional development holds a central place in our pedagogical model. We accompany the growth of children in an environment of safety, attentive listening, and reflection. From the Initial level onward, formation is oriented toward the Person Model of the Network of Ignatian Educational Units, which seeks to educate children who are conscious, competent, compassionate, and committed. Likewise, students learn Christian and Gospel values through the “Catechesis of the Good Shepherd,” based on the Montessori methodology, through spaces that invite them to know, reflect upon, and celebrate the central elements of the Christian faith.
